Championship weekend

5 / 5

Ed Orgeron has done a magnificent job as interim head coach at USC. Since Lane Kiffin was fired, the Trojans are 5-1 and knocked off a top-10 opponent in Stanford. But is that enough to promote Orgeron, who had three abysmal years as head coach at Ole Miss, into one of the biggest jobs in college football?

USC rolls into Boulder, Colo., this weekend, riding the momentum of a coaching change and the improbable events that resulted from it.

A multi-talented — yet still scholarship-depleted — USC is three or more touchdowns better than Colorado, and should improve to 6-1 under Ed Orgeron since he replaced fired coach Lane Kiffin on an interim basis.

It’s undeniable what USC has accomplished under Orgeron, but that doesn’t mean athletic director Pat Haden should give the keys to one of the top three jobs in college football to a coach whose only history in the Big Chair included three truly awful seasons at Ole Miss.

At this point, that’s all we can go by. Moreover, we can’t ignore this critical fact: USC, despite the collateral damage of NCAA probation, still has more talent than most teams.

Not only that, we’re comparing Orgeron with Kiffin, who we can all agree was an unmitigated disaster in a program too big for his qualifications and experience as a head coach. Who else does that sound like?

Look, Orgeron has done a fabulous job, but he’s also riding the good fortune of a favorable schedule and the inevitable comparisons to Kiffin.

Well, look what Kiffin did with those players.

Right, and look what Orgeron has done with absolutely zero pressure on any decision he makes. What are they going to do, fire him?

The one positive note for Orgeron, one of the true grinders in the business: he has proven he deserves another shot. Not many get that chance to prove it — and there are many out there who should be coaching but aren’t (see: Dan Hawkins).

But if you’re USC, you must aim higher. If you’re Haden, you must at least take a run at Chris Petersen or Kevin Sumlin.

Or take a serious look at Tim DeRuyter, a meticulous, fiery leader and Long Beach, Calif., native who has Fresno State on the verge of playing in a BCS bowl in his second season. Haden can’t fall into the same trap Mike Garrett did when he hired Kiffin.
USC isn’t a spur-of-the-moment job. Don’t give it away to a fleeting thought.

A significant development at Baylor flashed by us earlier this week, yet barely caused a blip in the narrative of Saturday’s critical Big 12 game at Oklahoma State.

Spencer Drango, Baylor’s massive starting left tackle, had back surgery on Tuesday and will miss the remainder of the regular season. This is significant because Drango protects the blind side of QB Bryce Petty, and the more pressure Petty feels, the more he’s pressured into quick throws against a secondary that is tied nationally for the lead in interceptions (19).

Baylor has two options: move right tackle Kevin Palmer to the right side, and insert Troy Baker — who started last year at right tackle but is still not 100 percent back from ACL surgery — on the right side. Or start sophomore Pat Colbert, Drango’s backup all season.

Either way, there will be protection issues for Petty and the Baylor offense, which will also be dealing with brutal temperatures — game time wind chill expected in the teens — and their first big road test of the season.

I don’t want to be the guy ruining Missouri’s big plans for a week from Saturday, but someone has to remind everyone what the Tigers are walking into this weekend.

Ole Miss has lost three games this season: No. 1 Alabama, No. 6 Auburn, No. 12 Texas A&M. But for Johnny Manziel’s late-game heroics, the Rebels beat the Aggies. But for some bad decisions by quarterback Bo Wallace, the Rebels beat Auburn.

Ole Miss is healthy again on defense, and tailback Jeff Scott — who has missed a month with a thigh injury — is ready to go. How significant is that, you ask? Scott, if healthy, will be the most dynamic player on the field.

The last time Scott was completely healthy, he rushed for 164 yards against Texas in late September, and had a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown. Meanwhile, Ole Miss has won four in a row, beginning the streak with a victory over LSU.

This is the trap for Missouri, which gets back starting QB James Franklin (though Maty Mauk played well; 11 total TDs, 2 INT) but can’t afford a loss in either of its final two games — or South Carolina wins the SEC East Division.

For all the hype Texas A&M has received over this season and last, consider this: Missouri could be the first of the two SEC expansion additions to play in the SEC Championship Game.

That starts by not looking past a dangerous Ole Miss team in a classic look-ahead game.

It has only been two months, but the nation finally gets its chance this weekend to embrace Wisconsin.

For weeks now, Wisconsin, through not fault of its own, has been languishing in the lower half of the BCS poll as an undervalued team. The ultimate eye test team has been dragged down by Pac-12 officials (see: Arizona State game) and the state of the Big Ten.

Until now.

The Badgers travel this weekend to play Minnesota and the Gophers — and their feel-good story of the season — might just be enough to get everyone to look at Wisconsin. While everyone will watch to see Minnesota, the team whose coach is battling epilepsy and the team that has rallied around a gutty staff to produce in an improbable and memorable season, Wisconsin will do what it has done for much of the season.

Run the ball, play solid defense, win impressively.

If we’re all inclined to embrace Ohio State and what it has done this fall, it’s impossible to not do the same with Wisconsin — which lost by a touchdown in Columbus earlier this year. Besides, what’s not to like about a team that lines up and tells you they’re going to run the ball — then has two tailbacks (Melvin Gordon, James White) rush for more than 1,000 yards already this season?